Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

Today's episode will be on dogs; man & women’s best friend, and it will be on the eight most popular dog breeds in the world.

This episode was from a request from a listener that I was more than happy to oblige, being a massive dog lover myself. My little blue Staffy, Sumo, unfortunately didn’t make the list, but if you want to give him some love, check him out with his little bow tie looking quite fetching! on Facebook and Instagram from the website.

And if you want to hear some more great dog puns, well, paws what you’re doing, and listen to this episode!

With that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

Wikipedia Summary

The dog (Canis familiaris[4][5] or Canis lupus familiaris[5]) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from extinct Pleistocene wolves,[6][7] and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative.[8] Dogs were the first species to be domesticated[9][8] by hunter-gatherers over 15,000 years ago[7] before the development of agriculture.[1] Due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals[10] and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.[11]

The dog has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes.[12] Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and the military, companionship, therapy, and aiding disabled people. Over the millennia, dogs became uniquely adapted to human behavior, and the human–canine bond has been a topic of frequent study.[13] This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend".[14]

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog]

Mnemonic

Dogs – 8 Most Popular Breeds in the World Mnemonic – PiGGY CLuBeD

(Picture a pig dressed like John Travolta tearing up the dancefloor at the club)

1. Poodle

2. Golden Retriever

3. German Shepherd

4. Yorkshire Terrier

5. Chihuahua

6. Labrador

7. Beagle

8. Dachshund

NB: The list is not in order, as this will change from time to time, but for those that want to know The Labrador came out on top on this particular list

Five Fun Facts

1. A dog’s sense of smell is at least 40 times better than that of a human. This is due to an area in a dog’s brain that detects smells being 40 times larger than that of a human.

2. Not only are they better than us at smelling they’re also better at hearing. Dogs’ can hear approximately four times the distance than that of a human and their frequency range is also nearly double that of a human.

3. Dogs are multi-talented when it comes to sniffing and breathing because they can do them together. The design of their noses allows this by enabling smells to stay in the nose while air can flow in and out of their lungs freely.

This should make them good didgeridoo players. Though I’m yet to see a dog play a digeridoo! Though many have attempted on YouTube!

4. Dogs cool down primarily in two ways. The first way is they sweat through their paws and secondly, they pant to remove heat, so remember to always keep them cool on those warmer days.

5. The ears of a dog have 18 muscles to control their every movement. And there is a lot of movement. A dog uses these muscles not only to direct their ears to detect sound but also to convey their body language and communicate with both humans and other dogs.

6. Bonus Fact: There is a dog that is partial to a little bit of Mary Schneider. And I know you’re asking who is Mary Schneider? Well, Mary Schneider is one of Australia’s most underrated exports with her extraordinary talent for yodeling.

Anyway, the Basenji which does not bark, but instead makes a very unique noise, which can only be described as yodeling.

Three Question Quiz

Q.1. A normal adult dog has how many teeth? Options are 32, 38 or 42

Q.2. What is the approximate gestation period for dogs? Options are 9 weeks, 16 weeks or 24 weeks

Q.3. Which dog breed is the smallest?

Bonus Q. How old, was the verified world’s oldest dog which was an Australian Cattle Hound named Bluey? Options are 21, 25 or 29?

Mnemonic Recap

Dogs – 8 Most Popular Breeds in the World Mnemonic – PiGGY CLuBeD

(Picture a pig dressed like John Travolta tearing up the dancefloor at the club)

1. Poodle

2. Golden Retriever

3. German Shepherd

4. Yorkshire Terrier

5. Chihuahua

6. Labrador

7. Beagle

8. Dachshund

NB: The list is not in order, as this will change from time to time, but for those that want to know The Labrador came out on top on this particular list

Three Question Quiz Answers

Q.1. A normal adult dog has how many teeth? Options are 32, 38 or 42

A. 42

Q.2. What is the approximate gestation period for dogs? Options are 9 weeks, 16 weeks or 24 weeks

A. 9 weeks

And just speaking of dogs’ giving birth. What happened to the dog who gave birth on the side of the road?

It was booked for littering!

Q.3. Which dog breed is the smallest?

A. Chihuahua – Now just speaking of smaller dog breeds I have a short story.

There are three handsome male dogs. The first one is a Rottweiler, the second a Boxer, and the third is a Staffy.

Now, they’re walking down the street when they see a gorgeous female Poodle.

Anyway, they all jump over each other in an effort to get to her first, to say hello.

And when they got there, they were all speechless and dumbfounded by her beauty, and all they could do was look at her with googling eyes, whilst slobbering and salivating over each other.

Now, the Poodle was aware of the obvious effect she was having on her male suitors and decided to be nice and fair, and she said “The first one that can put the words ‘Liver’ and ‘Cheese’ into an imaginative and intelligent sentence, can go out with me”.

Anyway, the Rottweiler blurts out “I love liver and cheese”.

And, the Poodle says “yeah, okay, but that’s not very imaginative or intelligent.”

She then turns the Boxer and says “what about you, big boy”.

And the Boxer says “I hate liver and cheese”.

And the Poodle says “yeah, okay, but again that’s not very imaginative or intelligent.”

She then looks to the Staffy and says “what about you little boy?”

Anyway, he gives her a smile and a cheeky wink and turns to the Rottweiler and Boxer and says “Liver alone, Cheese mine!”

Bonus Q. How old was the verified world’s oldest dog, which was an Australian Cattle Hound named Bluey? Options are 21, 25 or 29?

A. 29

According to Dogtime, good ol’ Bluey lived from 1910 to 1939 and died at the age of 29 years, 5 months!

Word of the Week

bilious